Shattered Trust
by jsaint33
Summary: With all the spoilers and trailers released for the upcoming Avengers: Age of ULTRON, I wrote my own take on a possible final battle. Reviews would be appreciated.


The war with ULTRON changed everything. It's true that the Avengers had their issues. But Tony's creation of an artificial intelligence that decided it was going to wipe out humanity cut the fragile threads that their trust in each other was hanging on. The addition on the Vision when he turned on his creator helped the battle end in victory. But for Steve and Natasha, the alternate realities they were thrown into by Wanda Maximoff, nearly tore their relationship, and their very world apart.

FLASHBACK:

"Steve, you wanted us to just be friends. That's all we are. It's been a year and a half since we left each other at the Graveyard. If you feel this way about me you should have told me then."

"You don't remember? I tried to tell you. It wasn't until Clint brought you back from Paris that I was able to get all of this out. Nat, you and I, we did get together."

"No, Steve. That's not what happened. I left to rebuild my covers, and you went to find the Winter Soldier. I came back, and Bruce and I realized that we have feelings for each other. He and I are together. You missed your chance, I'm sorry."

Her words are like a dagger through his heart. He can't blame her or Bruce for what's happened. Nor is he sure how or why he remembers it all, and she doesn't. His thoughts on the matter would be interrupted as ULTRON made his final attack, ready to wipe the Avengers out, and then the rest of the world.

"You cannot win Avengers. Your presence creates chaos. With your deaths, order will be restored. An order ruled by me."

The team fights bravely, many of ULTRON'S drones fall in battle. Everything seems to be proceeding towards an Avengers victory, until the Scarlet Witch places a hex on The Hulk, causing him to lose control. He tears through all of them at once, Thor is sent careening towards the Chrysler building, and Steve lands at the feet of ULTRON, barely managing to get his shield in place before the killing blow. His shield is shattered by one punch. He just manages to roll away before the next strike lands in the spot where he had been. Knowing that the situation has just become worse, Tony decides to enact his contingency plan.

"Veronica, help me out."

The armor is directed towards Iron Man, and assembles around his smaller suit. Now locked in battle with the Hulk, he desperately tries to get through to his friend.

"BANNER! I know you're in there! Whatever she's done, you have to fight it!"

The repeated punches and repulsor blasts only anger the Hulk more. He starts to crush Tony's gauntlets, but one last blast from the uni-beam chest repulsor throws them both back. As the Mark 44 armor falls apart, ULTRON engages his creator one more time. With that failure, only Natasha is left to try and calm the beast.

"Bruce, please you have to fight. I know you're in there. I know you care for me, and would never hurt me. Please…"

Her words seem to break through, and for a brief instant, the Hulk is calmed, and joins his hand with hers. One more push of the hex from Scarlet Witch sends him back into a rage. Steve has been slowly recovering from the force he felt of his shield being shattered. He only watched this exchange for a moment, and though his thoughts are chaotic at seeing the woman he loves in this intimate moment with the Hulk, he notices the hammer he landed next to. Reacting on instinct, and knowing that Natasha could die at any moment, he reaches out and wraps his hand around Mjolnir. Feeling a surge of electricity, Thor's words come back to him.

"Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of THOR!"

Lifting the hammer, Steve throws himself in between Banner and Natasha. He's not sure how he did it, and maybe the enchantment did it for him. But a well-placed strike to the Hulk's face knocks him away from her.

"Cap! He wasn't going to hurt me! I had him calm. I almost had Bruce back."

"You don't know what he was going to do. That Maximoff kid still has him under her control. I had to protect you."

"I don't need you to protect me…"

Before Natasha can finish berating Steve, Thor has walked over to them, now recovered.

"Captain, you have…how did you lift Mjolnir?"

"I don't know, it was there, and I just did it."

"Hey, if you guys are done with your touchy-feely moment out there, ULTRON is kicking the crap out me!"

Tony was still fighting for his life; he only got a moment to call out before the robot was crushing the armor around his neck. A second call from Hawkeye gets them back in the fight.

"Hey, we got more drones incoming, and that Vision guy is leading them."

"All right, Thor, go help Stark, with Banner down, he'll need all the help he can get. Widow, take out the Witch. If she's down, she can't control the Hulk again."

"What about you Captain? What are you going to do?"

"Whatever I can to buy you time. Move it!"

The three of them immediately separate to take on their tasks. When Natasha and Thor are out of earshot, Steve calls up to Clint one more time.

"Clint, switch over."

"On our line, Cap. What do you got?"

"I need you to contain the other Maximoff kid. He's too fast for me to keep up. You've got the quick eyes, shut him down."

"I'll do my best. What's your crazy plan this time?"

"I'm going to try and reason with the Android. He's got to know he's fighting for the wrong side."

"That's insane Steve, you can't reason with a killing machine."

"Gotta try. He was based off of JARVIS. Part of him still has to be in there."

As Steve picks up the largest piece of his broken shield, the aforementioned android lands behind him. With a cold and emotionless voice the Vision addresses Captain America.

"You cannot hope to win Captain. Why do you continue this pointless fight?"

"Because what I'm fighting for is greater than myself. It's something you'll never understand. A bully is a bully, no matter what they're made out of."

"That does not make sense. The desire to survive should drive you to fight."

"My survival is the last thing I'm thinking about. If I die, it's for the greater good. A chance for humanity to still have hope, even if the odds are stacked against them."

Vision doesn't attack. As he appears to be processing this information, the drones that were with him begin fighting Steve. Clint is barely keeping up with Pietro's speed, his arrows are flying fast, but the kid is a blur. Having to focus on dodging explosions, he doesn't notice Natasha hitting his sister with a sneak attack, and electrocuting her with the Widow's bite.

"All right Cap, one down."

As Wanda fell unconscious, her spells lost their power. The Hulk slowly reverted back to Bruce, as Natasha fell to her knees, screaming in pain as reality settled in. Her scream was enough to distract Steve, and at that moment one of the drones took hold of his neck and began to choke the life out of him. Looking up, Natasha could see the man she loves dying before her eyes. Before she could react, Vision moved and ripped the arm off of the drone.

"I cannot let him die. I must know what it means to be human."

As Steve catches his breath, he can only watch in stunned silence as the android starts tearing the drones apart. If ULTRON could scream, he would at feeling his other vessels being destroyed. It only took a combined blast of lightning from Mjolnir, and uni-beam blast from Iron Man to throw the robot back out of the building.

"Maximoff! Is this what you wanted? How long do you think you and your sister will survive once ULTRON is done with us? You two are just another stepping stone for him. A threat to ultimate control."

Pietro hears Tony speak these words, and looking around sees the wounded victims of ULTRON's wrath. He becomes conflicted at the damage he has helped cause, and finally looks over to see his sister down. He takes less than a second to cross the distance between them. As she starts to regain consciousness, she can barely speak; her words emerge as a whisper.

"I think we've ended up on the wrong side of this Pietro."

The combined strike from Iron Man and Thor only served to slow ULTRON down. The machine returns to the fight, and once again decimates the Avengers left standing.

"You still continue this battle Iron Man. Your armor is destroyed; you must realize that this is your end."

"ULTRON, you…"

Stark's words are cut off as his creation swats him away. ULTRON surveys the damage. Thor is unconscious, with Mjolnir fifteen feet from him. Natasha is desperately trying to wake Bruce, but he won't respond. Steve hasn't been able to move since he was nearly choked to death. When the machine turns his attention to the twins, Pietro knows Tony was right. This is going to be their end as well.

"You served me well, but like the Avengers, your time has come."

Preparing to fire a blast from his modified repulsor, an arrow affixes itself to his back, the resulting explosion a mere annoyance.

"We're not done yet, robot. You haven't taken us all out."

"What hope do you have? I have defeated your strongest allies. You are just a man, Hawkeye."

"Maybe I am, but Cap said it best. Dying for the greater good is a hell of a way to go, humanity will always have hope."

"Then you shall be the first to die."

"He will not die, Father. None of them will die as long as I oppose you."

Before attacking Barton, ULTRON turns around, and he sees the Vision walking forward through the destroyed drones.

"You have turned on me as well. I gave you this form. You are no match for me."

The android stands face to face with his creator. While it is true that ULTRON created the body, Tony Stark created the mind. The voice that was once cold and emotionless begins to sound more like JARVIS.

"The Captain was correct. Dying for the greater good is a cause worth fighting for. The odds were stacked against all of the Avengers, but they continued to fight. You created me to be the perfect machine, but I choose to know what it's like to be human."

As the fight begins ULTRON realizes he made a mistake in adapting the A.I. to be his vision for the world. In creating the android, he constructed him of the same vibranium Stark was working on. Vision's body is indestructible, and he adapted his abilities to also become intangible. The fight lasts for hours, but in the end Vision rips ULTRON'S head from the body, and then the power source from his chest.

"You gave me life, Father. I have taken yours."

During the final battle, the Avengers could only watch the sheer brutality of it. When it was all over, they knew their victory was nothing short of a miracle, and none of them were actually a part of it. Bruce was finally waking up, and Natasha was still by his side. He feels her hand on his face, but he's not sure who she is, and one name escapes his lips.

"Betty…"

When his eyes open, he sees the redhead beside him, and recoils in shock.

"Natasha, what are you…? Did I hurt you?"

"No, Bruce. I'm fine. We…"

"Natasha, you're a great friend, and I remember everything. But Betty is my one."

"We have to talk about this Bruce; we can't just pretend it didn't happen."

"No we can't, the feelings we were forced to have are going to be there. And we will talk about it, but now is not the time."

Looking over, Bruce sees Steve struggling to his feet. He's physically beaten, but the emotions running across his face are more painful than the bruises and broken bones he will no doubt be suffering from.

"Nat, go. Steve needs you."

"But Bruce, I…"

"Natasha, you know that wasn't us. It was the Witch's control of us. Steve loves you. Go."

She pulls back quickly, and runs towards Steve. Quickly throwing an arm around his waist she helps him the rest of the way to his feet. The serum will heal his body, but his heart is another matter entirely.

End of Flashback

A month has gone by since ULTRON was defeated. Humanity nearly crossed the threshold of extinction, but knew that it was the Avengers who had saved them again. For the team though, getting back to what passes for a normal life was a little more difficult. Even though the Vision had been created from JARVIS, Tony got to work on reintegrating the A.I. into the tower as a new program. Bruce locked himself up in his lab, preferring solitude after what Wanda put him through. The savage Hulk coupled with the forced feelings he and Natasha had shared tore away at him. Finally, Tony and Pepper located Betty Ross and brought her to the tower. Now she's standing outside of his lab, trying to talk to him.

"Bruce? I know you're in there. I know why you left after the incident in Harlem. Tony says you need help. Please, let me in."

From the other side of the door, Bruce tries so hard to hide his fear and anguish. His words cut her to the core.

"I can't Betty. I could hurt you. The other guy, he's still as dangerous as he was then. Only by staying in here, and doing my work can I keep him locked away."

"That's not going to solve anything. You let me help you with Sterns. This time isn't any different."

He realizes that she's right. When the door opens, Betty breathes a sigh of relief until she sees him. His face is drawn, with dark circles under his eyes. But he's also standing right in the doorway where she can't move past him.

"Are you going to let me in? Or are we going to talk in the hallway?"

"Betty…,"

"Whatever happened can't have been your fault. When I last saw you, you had a modicum of control over the Hulk. Tell me what happened."

"What do you know, what did Tony tell you?"

"That you were placed under some sort of spell."

"It was the Hulk untethered, all the rage and destruction…,"

"That wasn't you. It wasn't even him."

"No, it was me. The world saw the Hulk for who he really is. But…,"

"What else, there's something more to this."

Bruce goes on to talk about the forced feelings he had for Natasha. He expects Betty to be upset; she and Dr. Samson broke up as soon as Bruce came back into the picture. But she surprises him by being understanding, and comforting.

"Bruce, if this girl was as powerful as Tony says, there was nothing you could have done. Is it that you feel like you cheated, or betrayed me in some way? You didn't."

While Bruce and Betty were resolving their own issues, Steve and Natasha had barely spoken since the events in Sokovia. They worked together to get the job done, but when the battle was over, they still had to deal with the impact on their relationship. Before leaving the tower for D.C. Tony had the bright idea to throw another party, partly in celebration of the Avengers victory, but his ulterior motive was to get Steve and Nat to talk. If they were going to lead the new Avengers team, they had to work this out. While everyone was mingling inside, Steve was out on the balcony, looking out over the city. He heard the soft footsteps behind him, but didn't turn around.

"How long are you going to keep doing this, Steve?"

"Doing what?"

"Avoiding me. You know that what happened was because Maximoff placed a hex on Bruce and I."

"Knowing it is one thing, accepting it is another. Nat I…"

"Steve, if you love me, you will NOT finish that sentence. I thought we were past all of this, all of our trust issues. Why now all of a sudden do you have doubts?"

"We've been through this before. It's because I've lost everyone I've ever cared about! My Mom, Bucky, Peggy, my whole damn life since I crashed that jet in the ice! I go on for you, because with you, I found my place in this world. Everyone sees me as Captain America, the hero. A symbol for this nation, but you are the only person who sees me as Steve Rogers. With you I can just be myself. And hex or not, when you told me you were with Bruce, it was like a dagger to my heart."

Natasha now knows how much he's hurting. He's always been honest with her since their world came crashing down with SHIELD and HYDRA. But she's never seen him break down like this. It's not the way he was raised, even as a sickly kid before the serum, he was taught to be strong.

"Steve, I'm…, I'm so sorry. I can't change what happened."

He has fallen to his knees in front of her, so she kneels down with him. As he leans his head on her shoulder, she begins to run her fingers through his hair, while his emotions overflow.

"Nat, I…I know it wasn't your fault. I'm sorry I've been acting like a…"

Natasha pulls back, and places a finger to his lips, stopping him mid-sentence.

"Steve, none of this was your fault either. You always want to carry the burdens of this team on your shoulders. The world sees you as Captain America because they need too. Your willingness to sacrifice your life made The Vision see what it means to be truly human."

"Nat…,"

"Let me finish. I see past all of that because you're different. I look at you and I don't see Captain America, I see the boy you were, and the man you are, underneath the uniform. You trusted me with that side of yourself. But it's not just that, you saw past all of the red in my ledger, and gave your heart to me. Even when I was stubborn, and didn't think I deserved you. Everyone who looks at me sees the assassin, a spy. Everyone, but you."

Natasha Romanoff was always taught to believe that emotions were a weakness, trust was a liability. She's been fighting her feelings since Steve first said I love you to her. But now, no more running, no more hiding, she's ready.

"I love you, Steve. Marry me."

The couple was married four months later. Their world had finally seemed to settle. During those months, the government instituted a Super-human registration act, spear-headed by Tony Stark. Instantly, The Avengers found themselves split down the middle. Vision, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch joined the team, and sided with Tony, along with Rhodes and Clint. Even though she had Steve, Natasha still felt betrayed by her long-time partner and friend. She would side with Steve's anti-registration team, which included Sam, Bruce, Thor, and T'Challa: the Black Panther. The fighting would last for months, and to prevent more bloodshed, Steve would surrender. On his way to his trial, a ghost from his past would come back to haunt him. He and Natasha never made it to their one year wedding anniversary, as a sniper's bullet cut him down. She held him as he died, and though Bucky returned too late to save his friend, he did catch Crossbones, the man that had been the one to fire the fatal shot. The aftermath set off a chain of events no one could have foreseen.


End file.
